Heel lift machine



Feb. 6, 1934. c. A. OLSEN HEEL LIFT MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec.17, 1931 Inven tar; CarZA. Olsen W0 Feb. 6, 1934. c, OLSEN 1,945,864

HEEL LIFT MACHINE Filed Dec. 17, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 6 r A.UZS 72Atty. I

Feb. 6, 1934. c. A. OLSEN HEEL LIFT MACHINE Filed Dec. 17, 1931 5Sheets-Sheet 3 Inventm; CarZ .0ZS 72,

' Ania.

Patented Feb. 6, 1934;

UNITED STATES HEEL LIFT MACHINE Carl A. Olsen, Lynn, Mass., assignor toToplifter,

Ina, Lynn, Mass, a corporation of chusetts Massa Application December17, 1931 Serial No. 581,663

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine to facilitate the removal andreplacement of top lifts on shoe heels, and particularly on wooden heelsof womens shoes.

My prior application Serial No. 550,332, filed July 13, 1931, disclosesa unitary machine of this general type arranged to permit a singleoperator to perform the necessary operations to remove the worn lift,properly to level the heel if necessary, to apply the new top lift, totrim and shape the edges of the same, and to burnish or buff the heelwith the top lift applied, when necessary. Machines of the typedisclosed in my above-identified copending application have beenemployed with particular success in shoe stores, department stores andsimilar institutions, and the present invention provides improvementswhich make a machine of this character even more suitable for anenvironment of such a type, as well as generally more satisfactory inuse. Thus, for example, the present invention provides an arrangement ofthe various component elements of the machine and of various receptaclesfor supporting top lifts, nails, cement, finishing stain or the like ina convenient manner so that all of the necessary operations may beperformed with singular alacrity, permitting top lifts to be replaced ina very short interval of time and thus allowing highly satisfactoryservice to a customer who is waiting for the top lifts to be changed.

Furthermore, the present invention affords distinct improvements in thecleanliness of operating conditions permitted with a machine of thischaracter. Thus the machine may be used without the necessity offrequent sweeping of trimmings from the floor or the spreading of duston surrounding articles.

As in the case of the machine disclosed in my prior application, asingle unitary frame supports the various implements and devices foroperating upon the shoe heel and top lift, the machine having a mainshaft with a rotary trimming wheel at one end and with a finishing wheelor a b-urnishing, filing and sanding element at its other end. A movableanvil may be arranged to cooperate with a fixed portion of the mainframe to clamp and support the shoe when the top lift is being removedas well as when the new lift is being nailed to the heel; preferably aquick-acting locking arrangement is provided to assure the properholding of the shoe upon the anvil or its instantaneous release.

The frame of the machine preferably is disposed upon a suitable cabinetwhich is particularly arranged to afford the maximum of convenience tothe operator of the machin'eand to afford suitable air passages andstorage space for purposes to be described. The cabinet p'ieferably isprovided with swinging drawers having compartments to hold graduatedsizes and/Or types of heel lifts as well as fastening nails there for. Adrop-drawer is provided to hold containers for stains and cement.Associated with the cabinet is a grille and holder arrangedinconjunctionwith suitable draft-inducing meansso that the heels that have just beenstainedmay be exposed to a draft of air and rapidly dried, thusexpediting the completion of the replacement operation and permittingbetter service to be afforded.

A draft-inducing factor also'is arranged to remove shavings or trimmingsfrom the region of the cutter and'to deposit the same in a suitablewaste bag that may be mounted at one side of the cabinet. Thisdraft-inducing means is also arranged to receive dust or particles fromthe finishing wheel, and to deliver the same to the waste receptacle.

In the accompanying drawings;

Figs. 1 and 2 are isometric views of'a machine constructed in accordancewith the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the frame of the machine andtheupper part of the cabinet. certain parts being. removed and broken awayfor clarity of illustration;

Figs. 4 and 5 are sections indicated by lines 44 and 5--5 respectivelyof Fig.3; and

Figs. 6 and 7 are sectional details" showing the arrangement of theanvil with its supporting and locking means. I

Referring to the accompanying drawings, and. first more particularly toFigs. 1 and 2; my improved machine may be seen to comprise a cabi net,designated in general by the numeral 1', which is provided with a bottom2 and an intermediate shelf 3 that are normally concealed by a door 4.The lower part ,of the cabinet may be employed for the storage of anymiscellaneous materials, extra quantities of top lifts, extra bottles ofstain, jars of cement or the like. At theright' of "the cabinet is adrop-drawer 7, th lower front Corner 1 of which swings about ahorizontal axis. This drawer preferably is divided 'into a plurality ofcompartments of a size and shape to receive bottlesiof coloring materialor stain and a jar of coment. Beside the drop drawer- 7 are swingingdrawers -8 which conveniently may swing about a vertical axis at thefront cornerof the cabinet.

Each of these drawers is divided by an arcuate partition into inner andouter sections, the outer section being divided by radial partitions 11'into a plurality of compartments. Thus the inner section may receivenails for securing the now top lifts in place, while the outercompartments may contain new top lifts of different sizes and/ or types.

Secured upon the topof the cabinet is the-frame 14 of the machine whichmay be in the form .of an aluminum casting of the general type disclosedand described in my above-identified, copending application which isincorporated herein by reference. The frame 14 preferably is pro videdwith a hollow housing portion 15 at one end, this housing portion beingprovided with a downwardly and forwardly inclined groove 16 which has ashape substantially conforming in cross section to the shape of the rearof a shoe upper. An anvil 17 is pivotally mounted upon a horizontal pin18, the ends of which are fixed to the casting 14. An eccentric 19 ispivotally mounted upon a shaft 20 which is extended to provide a handle21 (Figs. 6 and '7), the handle being swung forwardly to lock the anvilin its shoe gripping position (Fig. '7) and being swung rearwardly (Fig.6) to release the anvil from this position. As shown, a shield 22depends from the front of the anvil to engage and substantially toconceal the eccentric 19. The body of the anvil preferably has a rearsurface which is substantially complementary to the shape of the groove16 so that the rear portion of a shoe upper readily may be grippedtherebetween. While the body portion of the anvil as well as the casting10 may conveniently be formed of aluminum, the anvil is provided with asteel plate 26 so that marring or breaking down due to the hammering ofnails is avoided.

The machine has a single shaft 30 upon which the various necessaryrotary elements are disposed, this shaft carrying a pulley 31 (Fig. 3)which receives a belt 32 that wraps about a pulley 33 carried upon theshaft of a motor 34, the latter 7 being supported by hangers 35depending from the top of cabinet 1. The pulley 31 is disposed withinthe hollow housing 15 and the casting 14 has a tunnel portion 35extending from this housing and surrounding the shaft 30. The projectingend of shaft 30 carries a rotary cutter 37 (Fig. 3),

i which is provided with a suitable end guard 38 and peripheral guard39. This cutter and related elements may be of practically the same typeas morefully disclosed and described in my aboveidentified copendingapplication.

A duct 40 preferably is arranged within the tunnel35 and has a mouthdisposed beneath the cutter 37 to receive trimmings or shavings. Thewall of the duct 40 is continued in a substantially vertical partition42 within the housing 15, this partition being provided with a centralopening, however, surrounding the shaft 30. Adjoining this opening isarotary blower 43 secured to the shaft 30 and arranged to draw airthrough the duct 40 and the opening in partition 4 .2, delivering theair with the entrained shavings and trimmings to an outlet duct 43 whichextends down wardly through the upper part of the cabinet 1 to acoupling 44 which normally receives a waste receptacle or cloth bag 45,this bag being of a type to permit the emission of air but to retaindust, shavings or the like. The coupling 44 is so arranged that the bagor receptacle .45 may readily be removed for emptying when necessary.

The end of shaft 30 adjoining the housing 15 may be provided with afinishing wheel including a cylinder 78 of abrasive paper or the like,such as has been described in my copending application, a rotary file 79of grooved metal, and a burnishing portion 80. A substantiallysemi-cylindrical guard 52 projects from the housing 15 and has adownwardly inclined flange 53 to provide a rest for a shoe heel which isbeing operated upon by the finishing wheel, i. e. by the sanding orabrasive cylinder, the rotary file, or the burnishing element.

Adjoining the inner end of the sanding wheel and between the guard 52and the wheel is an arcuate slot 56 (Fig. 5) in the wall of casing 15 sothat air is drawn by the blower 43 through this slot, whereby dust orsmall particles are removed from the finishing wheel and its vicinityand is disposed within the bag 45. The pulley 33 preferably is providedwith inclined spokes 60 to afford a blower effect; this blower receivesair through the clearance spaces about drawers '7 and 8 and causes adraft of air to pass into the distorted funnel element 61 and thenceupwardly through a duct 62 to a box-like chamber 64 which may have aperforate cover or grille 65 of coarse meshed wire or the like extendingover its top. Thus a draft of air is emitted through the openings in thegrille. An upstanding bail element 67 projects above the inner end ofthe grille so that the heel of a shoe may be hooked over the same, thelower part of the heel being exposed above the grille and thus exposedto the draft of air flowing therefrom (see Fig. 2).

A machine of this character may be disposed at any suitable point whereelectric power is available; for example, a switch may be disposed atone corner of the top of the cabinet to control the supply of energy tothe motor 34. When a top lift is to be replaced, the shoe may bedisposed upon the anvil 17, the lever 21 being swung to the positionshown in Fig. '7 to lock the rear portion of the upper against theinclined groove in the front of housing 15. Thereupon the worn top liftmay be pried off the heel by any suitable hand tool and the nailsremaining in the heel may be pulled out or driven entirely into theheel. If the surface of the heel after the top lift has been removed isnot ready for the application of the new top lift, for example, if ithas worn off at an angle, the shoe is removed from the anvil before thenew top lift is applied, and the siu'face of the heel is treated withthe sanding element '78 so that it may be flat and disposed at a properangle to receive the new top lift.

The new top lift is applied to the heel when the shoe is supported uponthe anvil. Top lifts preferably may be provided to users of machines ofthis character with holes already pierced in the rubber or leatherthereof to serve as guides for the nails. The top lifts may be kept inthe swinging drawers 8 which may be quickly moved to their open orexposed position, thus permitting ready inspection of the contents and'removal of top lifts and nails from one of these drawers without dangerof possible movement of the drawertoo far or undesirable projection ofthe drawer'into the space in front of the machine. moved to its openposition and cement applied to the surface of the top lift and/or thesurface The drop-drawer v'7 may then 'be.

of the heel before the top lift is nailed in place.

cement, if employed; aiding this retention. 150

Thereupon the lever 21'may be swung to the position shown in Fig. 6,causing the anvil 17 to swing-forwardly torelease the shoe, The top liftthen may be' trimmed by the cutter 3'7. For this purpose the switch '75is closed, causing the motor 34 to drive the pulley 31 and shaft 30, thebottom of the heel or top lift being supported upon the inclined platensurface which is more fully disclosed and described in my copendingapplication. I a

After the lift has been trimmed by the cutter 37 and further treated bythe file 79, when necessary, stain may be applied to the joint betweenthe heel and the 'top lift and the shoe disposed over the grille65 inthe position illlustrated in Fig.2,thus permitting rapid drying of thestain. After the stain has thus been permitted to dry or initially toset, the bufiing wheel 80 may be employed to afford a suitable gloss onthis portion of the heel.

It is evident that a machine of this character affords a singularlyeificient and convenient apparatus to facilitate the removal andreplacement of top lifts on womens shoes, and particularly a machine ofthis character may be satisfactorily employed in a store or similarinstitution having fashionable appointments without seeming incongruous.Thus the trimmings from the trimming wheel 37 as well as the dust fromthe finishing wheel are impelled by the blower 43 into the passage 43thus passing to the waste receptacle 75. Accordingly the surroundings ofthe machine may be kept clean and there is a noticeable absence of dust,dirt, small shavings, trimmings, or similar particles upon the parts ofthe machine or in the neighborhood thereof. The arrangement of theswinging drawers affords the maximum convenience to the operator in theselecting of the proper size of top lift and in the obtaining of nailsfor this purpose, while the drop-drawer '7 does not project materiallybeyond the front of the machine and yet provides convenient means forholding bottles of stain and a cement jar. The handle 21 with theassociated locking means 19 affords simple and effective means forlocking and positively releasing the anvil from its shoe holdingposition. The grille facilitates the drying of stain upon the back ofthe shoe.

It thus is evident that this invention affords a particularly convenientarrangement of the necessary and desirable elements for performing theoperations incidental to the removal and replacement of heel lifts, andthat the machine permits such operations to be performed in the minimumof time, thus permitting a customer to be served without undesirable andunpleasant delay.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purposeof illustration only and that this invention includes all modificationsand equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A machine of the class described, comprising a cutting wheel, afinishing wheel, a single shaft to which the wheels are connected, acasing supporting the shaft, a cabinet supporting the casing, a wastereceptacle associated with the cabinet, a draft-inducing element uponsaid shaft intermediate said wheels, and an air duct with which saidelement is associated, said duct having branches to receive wasteparticles from both of said wheels to be deposited in said receptacle.

2. A machine of the class described, comprising a trimming wheel, afinishing wheel, a single shaft upon which the wheels are mounted, a,

casing for said shaft, said casing including a tunnel-like portion andenlargedhousing portion, a driving element fixed to said shaft withinthe housing, a draft-inducing element secured to the shaft within thehousing, said housing having a partition between said elements, a ductextending through the tunnel portion of the housing arranged to receivetrimmings from the trimming wheel and to direct them to the portion ofthe housing occupied by the draft-inducing element, an outlet ductextending from that portion of the housing, and an air-permeablereceptacle to receive said trimmings.

3. A machine of the class described, comprising a trimming wheel, afinishing wheel, a single shaft upon which the wheels are mounted, acasing for said shaft, said casing including a tunnellike portion andenlarged housing portion, a cabinet supporting the casing, a drivingelement fixed to said shaft within the housing, a driving motorsupported by the cabinet of the housing and operatively connected tosaid element, a draftinducing element secured to the shaft within thehousing, said housing having a partition between said elements, a ductextending through the tunnel portion of the housing arranged to receivetrimmings from the trimming wheel and to direct them to the portion ofthe housing ocupied by the draft-inducing element, an outlet ductextending from that portion of the housing, and an air-permeablereceptacle to receive said trimmings.

4. A machine of the class described, comprising a trimming wheel, afinishing wheel, a single shaft upon which the wheels are mounted, acasing for said shaft, said casing including a tunnellike portion andenlarged housing portion, a cabinet supporting the casing, a drivingelement fixed to said shaft within the housing, a driving motorsupported by the top of the housing and operatively connected to saidelement, a draftinducing element secured to the shaft within thehousing, said housing having a partition between said elements, a ductextending through the tunnel portion of the housing arranged to receivetrimmings from the trimming wheel and to direct them to the portion ofthe housing occupied by the draft-inducing element, an outlet ductextending from that portion of the housing, an air-permeable receptacleto receive said trimmings, said housing providing an opening adjoiningthe finishing wheel, and a hood disposed below and behind said finishingwheel, said opening connecting with the portion of the housingsurrounding the draft-inducing element, whereby dust from the finishingwheel may also be received by the receptacle.

5. A machine of the class described, comprising a trimming wheel, afinishing wheel, a single shaft upon which the wheels are mounted, acasing for said shaft, said casing including a tunnel-like portion andan enlarged housing portion, a driving element fixed to said shaftwithin the housing, a draft-inducing element secured to the shaft withinthe housing, said housing having a partition between said elements, aduct extending through the tunnel portion of the housing arranged toreceive trimmings from the trimming wheel and to direct them to theportion of the housing occupied by the draft-inducing element, an outletduct extending from that portion of the housing, said outlet ductterminat- 3 ing adjoining the side of the cabinet, and a bag ofair-permeable cloth detachably connected to said outlet duct andremovable therefrom.

I 6. A machine of the class described, comprising a heel cutting wheel,a heel finishing wheel, a single shaft to which the wheels areconnected, a casing supporting the shaft, a cabinet supporting thecasing, an air-permeable waste receptacle supported by the cabinet, adraft-inducing element upon said shaft, and an air duct with which saidelement is associated to cause trimmings from one of said wheels to bedeposited in said receptacle.

'7. A machine of the class described, comprising a trimming wheel, afinishing wheel, a single shaft upon which the wheels are mounted, acasing for said shaft, said casing including a tunnellike portion andenlarged housing portion,'a driving element fixed to said shaft Withinthe housing, a draft-inducing element secured to the shaft within thehousing, said housing having a partition between said elements, a ductextending through the tunnel portion of the housing arranged to receivetrimmings from the trimming Wheel and to direct them to the portion ofthe housing occupied by the draft-inducing element, an outlet ductextending from that portion of the housing, and an air-permeablereceptacle to receive said trimmings.

CARL A. OLSEN.

